Kate Marie Sclavi
Art Form(s):Artist Statement
I believe that Art-making serves as a pathway to liberation. It is a transformative process that enables individuals to engage with materials and their bodies to express their inner worlds—encompassing fantasies, dreams, memories, thoughts, and interests. Every person is inherently an artist, and my role as an educator is to guide individuals in uncovering their limitless creative potential while fostering connections among them. Many have been exposed to narrow definitions of art, often constrained by notions of right and wrong. I aim to deconstruct these binaries and empower individuals to embrace their artistic identities.
As an Art Educator, I view every participant in the creative process as an artist. My role is to facilitate their journey and encourage experimentation with materials to discover new perspectives. Engaging in artistic creation becomes a vehicle for capturing emergent ideas and facilitating learning.
I design art lessons that provide essential techniques, incorporate mentor artists or visual culture references, and promote interdisciplinary connections to subjects such as science and math. Storytelling plays a significant role in my lesson development, fostering connections and reflections through a socio-emotional learning lens. I establish a framework of goals and objectives that integrates cognitive learning, emotional awareness, and technical skills while encouraging students to express themselves authentically rather than replicate samples. This approach nurtures genuine growth through a structured yet flexible creative process.
My pedagogical framework draws on the insights of educational philosophers such as John Dewey, Eliot Eisner, and Olivia Gude. Additionally, I am informed by my training in Socio-Emotional Art Education, Anti-Racist Art Education, and Culturally Sensitive Teaching.
Artist Bio
Kate Marie Sclavi is a NJ and NY-based Teaching Artist, Art Education Coach, and Visual Artist. For over two decades, she has led collaborative art projects for schools, museums, businesses, and other institutions as a Teaching Artist. Through a custom-designed collaboration process, she guides groups to create singular works of art that foster connection, healing, and new perspectives on organizational missions. With expertise in murals, mosaics, and giant weavings, she incorporates Socio-Emotional Learning and Arts Integrative goals while producing community-based, collaborative works of art.
As an Art Education Coach, Kate has worked with school districts to train and support K -12 educators and administrators, designing custom curricula and programming to meet school-wide goals. She has also provided training, supervision, and mentorship to pre-service Art Educators.
As a Visual Artist, Kate has completed residencies at Flux Factory, ArtsPlace, Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, and Elsewhere Collaborative. She produces solo artwork under the moniker Sirena Silks, creating silk paintings and illustrations, and co-founded the participatory art collective Shadow Traffic in 2017.
Kate holds a BS in Art Education, a BFA in Fine Art from the College of New Jersey, and an MEd in Art Education with a focus on Community Arts Practices from Tyler School of Art, Temple University. She has K-12 Visual Arts Teaching Certifications in New York and New Jersey and has completed training in Trauma-Informed Art Education and Culturally Responsive Education. Currently, she is a part of the RAISE (Responsive Arts in School Education) cohort within Young Audiences National.
Testimonials
Kate was wonderful with the students and fully prepared. It was a fun project!
Teacher, Village Charter School
